I love Mitt Romney, unabashedly so. I know that’s a cliche to say, especially now. After all, he’s the “good Republican”--the one that stood up to Trump when no one else would. It’s commonplace nowadays for liberals far and wide to proclaim their adoration for Romney, despite hating him twelve years ago and not acknowledging his existence for the eight years thereafter. None of them can name a single policy he’s spearheaded, a cause he’s undertaken, or a salient point he’s made. Why? Because none of them know Mitt Romney. None of them have considered his policies, listened to his speeches and debates, read a word the man has written, let alone a word written about him. Mitt Romney’s actions in the wake of January 6 secured his place in the annals of American history, acclaimed by those defending the Constitution and decried by the groups that sought--perhaps without realizing it--to destroy it. His record prior to that fateful day tragically reveals the depths to which the Republican Party has sunk. 

Mitt Romney’s father, George Romney, was a lifelong Republican Governor and former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. However, his progressive stance on civil rights saw him shunned by his comrades in the middle of the Goldwater era. As such, Mitt Romney remained an independent until his failed Senate race against the famed Ted Kennedy in 1994. Even if he was a latecomer, Romney fit right in with the GOP rank-and-file of the late nineties: Social issues were on his periphery and cash was king. He wasn’t shifting his priorities or putting on an act to ingratiate himself with the typical Republican constituency, though. Romney was a finance man, and has continuously advocated for and put into practice fiscally responsible programs. After a growing scandal threatened to destroy the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Romney took over the project. He inherited a mess and through tactful negotiations with sponsors, an overhaul of the games’ management, and skillful maneuvering of both city government and the Church of Latter Day Saints, Romney turned a doomed venture into an astonishing success. Using the publicity from his handling of the Olympics, Romney ran a successful campaign for Governor of Massachusetts. Here, he encountered a budget deficit of well over a billion dollars. Ultimately, Romney was able to compromise and work with his majority-blue legislators, pulling Massachusetts out of the red and into a surplus.

Of course, higher fees and lower spending comes with downsides. The lack of state funds plainly displayed the need for basic welfare reform in order for the new system to work. While not holistic, Romney did work to create a new healthcare system that would allow Massachusetts-folk to purchase insurance without breaking the bank. The law, usually referred to as Romneycare, mandated that every individual in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts purchase insurance and that every employer with ten or more permanent employees provide insurance. For those whose income was at or lower than 150% of the national poverty line, the state would provide subsidized and free insurance through the revenue from a tax bump added by Democrats and leftover Medicaid funds from the federal government. Though absent from his campaign platform, Romney’s healthcare reform became the most distinguished achievement of his governorship. 

Despite his many praiseworthy triumphs, over the course of his career Romney’s attitudes toward social issues have been, frankly, confusing. In the early 2000s Romney stated that he was against gay marriage, yet he enforced the Massachusetts Supreme Court’s decision to require state recognition of these marriages. In 2004 a state constitutional amendment was advanced to outlaw same-sex marriage, which Romney voiced support for, if timidly. Soon after, he jumped ship and backed a compromise amendment which would not recognize marriage, but would allow for civil unions and domestic partnerships. Upon the amendment’s death, Romney simply ignored the issue. In 2022 he changed his past position, becoming one of only twelve Republicans to back legislation that would codify gay marriage on the federal level. His views on abortion have followed the reverse pattern, however. In his bids for senator and governor, Romney expressed pro-choice views. As time progressed, his views became more conservative and he is now firmly against abortion with the usual exceptions. Despite his rightward drift on the abortion issue, it is important to note that this is, by modern GOP standards, a rather moderate take on the situation.

Most notable is Romney’s foresight with Russia. During the 2012 presidential election, Romney voiced concerns about the rise of Vladimir Putin as a threat to American interests. The public laughed, mocking him as an out-of-touch old man stuck in the Reagan era. Romney did not back down in the face of such unearned criticism. We now know that Romney was correct; two years later Putin took Crimea, and in the decade since he has propped up a phony separatist movement in Transnistria and, of course, has waged a horrific and evil war in Ukraine. Romney saw the evil man that was Vladimir Putin. He refused to fall for Putin’s baiting and could see it from a world away. 

You’re probably wondering what the point of all this is. If you wanted to hear some pretentious teenager swoon over a Republican, you’d just walk down to Trinity or St. Christopher’s. While I’ve most definitely been swooning (I mean, he’s quite handsome for an old man), there’s a point to it all. I disagree with Romney on some of his social stances, sure, and I adore his fiscal policy. But what I love most is that Mitt Romney was, and still is, a human being. He cares about his people, his country, and his constitution. He does not hold the same vitriol in his heart that many other members of his caucus possesses in spades. In short, Mitt Romney, to me, represents the last vestige of the Grand Old Party, and, upon his retirement in November, will signal that death knell of the Republican Party. 

To be sure, the party will persist. It will still parade itself out in red and black finery, rally beneath the banner of the star-spangled elephant, and cheer at the name Republican. But, Republican it shall not be. Since 2016, the Republican Party has rapidly transformed into a party consumed by fear, cowardice, and extremism. The testimonies of Mitt Romney, Liz Cheney, and Adam Kinzingher show that many Republican officials don’t truly believe in the reactionary frenzy. Instead, they play into it for fear of losing their seat in Congress. More terrifying is that most of the newcomers to the party actually do believe in all this. They want books banned. They want gender affirming care banned. They want the border closed indefinitely–in fact, some of them want birthright citizenship repealed. They want abortion banned. They want to abandon Ukraine, and a few actively want Russia to succeed (looking at you, Vivek). Above all, they believe in a great lie:they believe Donald Trump had the election stolen from him and cannot wait to see the execution of Project 2025, which, if it succeeds, will become the greatest expansion of executive power and overreach in decades. 

To me, it is not the government’s place to manage any of these issues. To me, so long as you aren’t hurting anyone’s physical or mental wellbeing and you aren’t exploitative, I don’t care what you do. Live and let live, I say. Undeniably, the frenzy of reactionary conservatism that has seized control of the Republican party has abandoned any pretense of small government. Restricting the expression of sexual and gender identity, censorship on the basis of being “anti-American” or “woke,” and forcing traditionally Christian moral values on a nation that continues to see a decline in sectarian alignment is the very definition of authoritarian. On a more basic level, it also lacks compassion and empathy. Even if conservatives like Mitt Romney disagreed with people, they still had enough love for others in their hearts to help. Reagan signed amnesty for illegal migrants who had established lives in America, Bush Senior advocated for and enthusiastically signed legislation to help the disabled, and Bush Junior invested heavily in minority-heavy schools and locales during his governorship in Texas. Now, we see none of that. All we get now is hateful rhetoric, election denialism, and blatant attacks on our constitution. 

That being said, I still have hope. The country is in deep turmoil, but we’ll come out the other side stronger than ever. When that happens, Mitt Romney can look on from his estate–probably older than he has any right to be–and smile. He knows that he’ll be remembered fondly, either  for his gaffes, his great hair, or his part in fighting the extremist elements of his party. Even they too will be remembered--remembered, as Romney said, for their role in this shameful episode of American history.